A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to return the ball, i.e., attempt to advance it towards the kicking team's end zone, until the player with the ball is tackled by the kicking team, goes out of bounds, or scores a touchdown. Kickoffs take place at the start of each half of play, the beginning of overtime in some overtime formats, and after some scoring plays.

Common variants on the typical kickoff format include the onside kick, in which the kicking team attempts to regain possession of the ball; a touchback, which may occur if the ball is kicked into the receiving team's end zone; or a fair catch, in which a player on the receiving team asks to catch the ball without interference from the kicking team, waiving his entitlement to attempt a return rush. Additionally, penalties exist for various infractions such as a player violating his position restrictions prior to the kick (5-yard penalty), or if the ball goes out of bounds before touching a player (25 yards or placed at receiving team's 40-yard line, whichever is farther).

A kickoff occurs at the start of each half and before each overtime (in the National and Arena Football Leagues). It is also traditionally decided by a coin toss at the beginning of each game carried out by the referee. The visiting team captain calls either heads or tails. The winner of the coin toss elects whether to take first choice in the first half or the second half. The captain with first choice then picks either a team to kick off or an end of the field to defend. The other captain chooses the remaining option. At the beginning of the second half, the two captains choose in the reverse order. If an overtime is required, another coin toss takes place to decide who gets first possession during the overtime. After a touchdown the scoring team kicks the ball off to the opposing team. In American football a field goal also results in a kickoff by the scoring team, but in Canadian football the scored-against team has an option of scrimmaging from their 35-yard line or receiving a kickoff.

The NFL has a special rule for after a team scores safety that is not in place in any other form of gridiron football. The team that scored the safety is also awarded possession of the ball. The team that gave up the safety is required to kick the ball off from its own twenty-yard line, referred to as a "free kick", and cannot use a kicking tee. Although this is not a requirement, most teams choose to punt the ball on the free kick (teams can also dropkick or placekick the ball). The same rules apply as on a normal kickoff, whereas the ball is a live ball if it travels at least ten yards without the receiving team fielding it.

Dallas Cowboys kick-off during an NFL game. This picture was taken when the NFL kicked off from the 30-yard line, as it did from 1994 to 2010.

The line where the ball is placed for kickoff varies among the rule books. It is placed on the kicking team's 30-yard line in six-man football, 35-yard line in college and professional outdoor football, 40-yard line in American high school football, 45-yard line in amateur Canadian football, and the goal line in indoor and arena football. For the 2016 season only, the Ivy League placed the ball on the 40-yard line in conference games.[1] All players on the kicking team except the kicker (and, if used, a holder) must not cross the line at which the ball is placed until the ball is kicked. The receiving team must stay behind the line that is 10 yards from where the ball is placed. The ball can be fielded by the receiving team at any point after it has been kicked, or by the kicking team after it has traveled 10 yards or has been touched by a member of the receiving team. In American football (but not Canadian) touchback and fair catch rules apply to the kicked ball. If it is fielded by the kicking team, it is called an onside kick. A low, bouncing kick is called a squib kick. Although a squib kick typically gives the receiving team better field position than they would if a normal kick had been used, a squib kick is sometimes used to avoid giving up a long return, as well as use up a valuable amount of time on the clock, as it is impossible to fair catch such a kick. It is usually done when a team takes the lead in the final seconds, and is done to safely run out the remainder of the clock. Squib kicking with more than 20 seconds remaining has had unfortunate results (a line drive kick is more common when there are 20 to 50 seconds remaining; the typical hurry-up offense drive takes over a minute), but has been done by some teams.

If a receiving player crosses his restraining line before the kick, the ball is to be advanced 5 yards, then re-kicked. If a kicking team player crosses the line at which the ball is placed before it is kicked, the receiving team has the option either to have the kicking team re-kick from 5 yards farther back, or have 5 yards added on to the end of the return. In high school football, the receiving team only has the option to make the kicking team re-kick.

If the ball goes out of bounds without being touched by a player, the receiving team can choose either to have the ball moved back 5 yards and re-kicked, to take the ball 25 yards (25 yards under National Federation high school rules) past the spot of the kick (usually at their own 35-yard line), or to take the ball where it went out of bounds. However, on an onside kick, if the ball does not travel ten yards before the kicking team recovers the ball, they will take a 5-yard penalty and have the chance to kick another onside kick. If the onside kick goes less than 10 yards again, the receiving team will receive the ball at the spot the kicking team recovered it. However, if the receiving team touches the ball before it goes 10 yards, either team can recover it unpenalized.

Kickoffs entering the end zone are handled differently in American and Canadian rules. In the American college and professional game, if the ball goes out of bounds in the receiving team's end zone or is recovered and downed in the receiving team's end zone, the ball is placed at the receiving team's 25-yard line, and possession is given to the receiving team; these are known as touchbacks. High school football immediately rules the ball dead when the ball crosses the goal line; the ball cannot be returned from the end zone, nor can it be recovered there for a touchdown. In the Canadian game if the ball goes into the end zone and then out of bounds without being touched, the receiving team scrimmages from the 25-yard line (no points are scored). If the receiving team gains possession of a kickoff in its own end zone and then fails to return it into the field of play, the kicking team scores one point, and the receiving team scrimmages from the 35-yard line. Various forms of indoor football also recognize the single, but the ball must not only cross the end zone, but pass through the uprights (as in a field goal) as well. If the kicking team recovers its own kickoff in the end zone in any version of the game (something that, as previously mentioned, is impossible in high school football), it scores a touchdown.

Kickoffs into the end zone resulting in touchbacks became much more common in the NFL in 2011 as a result of a rule change. Whereas the kicking team previously kicked the ball off from their 30-yard line, the NFL moved the spot of the kickoff up 5 yards before the 2011 season in an attempt to avoid injuries from high-speed collisions. Only 16 percent of kickoffs in the 2010 season were touchbacks, but that jumped to almost 44 percent after the rule change.[2]

To receive a kickoff and set up a kickoff return, the receiving team sets up their players starting from 10 yards back from the point the ball is kicked from. There are usually one or two players positioned deep (around the goal line) that will attempt to catch or pick up the ball after it is kicked off by the opposing team's kicker. They will then attempt to carry the ball as far as possible upfield, without being tackled or running out of bounds. The other players are to block the kickoff team from getting to their kickoff returner.

1.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie

2.
Canadian football
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In Canada, the term football may refer to Canadian football and American football collectively, or to either sport specifically, depending on context. The two sports have shared origins and are related but have significant differences. Rugby football in Canada originated in the early 1860s, and over time, active teams such as the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have similar longevity. The CFL is the most popular and only major professional Canadian football league and its championship game, the Grey Cup, is one of Canadas largest sporting events, attracting a broad television audience, though it has been shrinking in recent years. In 2009, about 40% of Canadas population watched part of the game, in 2014, it was closer to 33%, great achievements in Canadian football are enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame located in Hamilton, Ontario. Other organizations across Canada perform senior league Canadian football during the summer, the first documented football match was a practice game played on November 9,1861, at University College, University of Toronto. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was Sir William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. The first written account of a game played was on October 15,1862 and it was between the First Battalion Grenadier Guards and the Second Battalion Scots Fusilier Guards resulting in a win by the Grenadier Guards 3 goals,2 rouges to nothing. In 1864, at Trinity College, Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, Frederick A. Bethune, the game gradually gained a following, with the Hamilton Football Club formed on November 3,1869. Montreal formed a team April 8,1872, Toronto was formed on October 4,1873, and this rugby-football soon became popular at Montreals McGill University. McGill challenged Harvard University to a game, in 1874 using a game of English rugby devised by the University of McGill. Later both the Ontario and Quebec Rugby Football Union were formed, and then the Interprovincial and Western Interprovincial Football Union, the CRFU reorganized into an umbrella organization forming the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891. The original forerunners to the current Canadian Football League, was established in 1956 when the IRFU and WIFU formed an umbrella organization, and then in 1958 the CFC left The CRFU to become the CFL. The Burnside rules closely resembling American football that were incorporated in 1903 by The ORFU, was an effort to distinguish it from a more rugby-oriented game, the rules were an attempt to standardize the rules throughout the country. The CIRFU, QRFU and CRU refused to adopt the new rules at first, the primary differences between the Canadian and American games stem from rule changes that the American side of the border adopted but the Canadian side did not. The Canadian field width was one rule that was not based on American rules, as the Canadian game was played in wider fields, initially an amateur competition, it eventually became dominated by professional teams in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Ontario Rugby Football Union, the last amateur organization to compete for the trophy, the move ushered in the modern era of Canadian professional football. Canadian football has mostly been confined to Canada, with the United States being the other country to have hosted high-level Canadian football games

3.
Tackle (football move)
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Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary and important purposes of tackling are to dispossess an opponent of the ball, the word is used in some contact variations of football to describe the act of physically holding or wrestling a player to the ground. In others, it simply one or more methods of contesting for possession of the ball. It can therefore be used as both a defensive or attacking move, in Middle Dutch, the verb tacken meant to grab or to handle. By the 18th century, a use was applied to harnesses or equipment used with horses. Modern use in football comes from the sport of rugby. In any such case, the ball becomes dead, the down is over, a tackle is known as a quarterback sack when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage while attempting to throw a pass. A tackle for loss indicates a tackle that causes a loss of yardage for the running back or wide receiver. When a player who does not have the ball is taken down it is referred to as a block. Tackles can also be made by grabbing the ball carriers jersey, as mentioned above, the referee can declare that a play is dead if the ball carriers forward progress has been stopped, even if he has not actually been taken to the ground. To protect players from potentially catastrophic injury, there are restrictions on tackles. At no time may a defensive player tackle a player by grabbing the facemask of their helmet, doing so incurs a 15-yard penalty. A similar penalty is assessed to any player attempting to contact with his helmet against another opponents helmet. Grabbing a ball carrier by the pads behind his neck and pulling him down is known as a horse collar, a method which has been made illegal at all levels of American football. However, in the NFL a player can continue forward for one step, place kickers and punters are afforded an even greater protection from being tackled. Once the play is ruled complete, no contact is permitted, a player who makes contact with an opponent after the play is charged with unnecessary roughness and his team is assessed a 15-yard penalty. However, a player who plays on the line can block below the knees as long the block is five yards of the line. In the National Football League, tackles are tracked as a statistic by a scorekeeper hired by the home team

4.
Florida State Seminoles football
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The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University in the sport of American football. The Florida State Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the team is known for its storied history, distinctive helmet, fight song and colors as well as the many traditions associated with the school. They are considered to be one of the most successful football programs ever. Florida State has won three championships, eighteen conference titles and six division titles along with a playoff appearance. The Seminoles have achieved three undefeated seasons and finished ranked in the top four of the AP Poll for 14 straight years from 1987 through 2000, ESPN ranks the 1999 team among the top teams in college football history. The team has produced three Heisman Trophy winners, quarterbacks Charlie Ward in 1993, Chris Weinke in 2000 and Jameis Winston in 2013, the Biletnikoff Award, presented annually to the top receiver in college football, is named for Florida State hall of famer Fred Biletnikoff. Many former Seminoles have gone on to have careers in the NFL. The program has produced 218 All-Americans and 250 professional players, the Seminoles have the tenth-highest winning percentage among all college football programs in Division I FBS history with over 500 victories. Florida State has appeared in postseason bowl games and rank ninth nationally for bowl winning percentage. The Seminoles archrivals are Florida, whom they meet annually in the last game of the regular season, a rivalry with Clemson has developed and grown due to both teams competing yearly for the ACC Atlantic division. Florida State University joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in July 1991, Florida State is considered one of the teams that brought the conference to its pinnacle becoming the overall most successful program in the ACC. Since the ACC expanded from nine to twelve universities in 2005, and instituted divisional play in football, Florida State plays an eight-game ACC football schedule. Six of these contests pit the Seminoles against the members of the ACC Atlantic Division, Boston College, Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse. Throughout a rotation schedule, Florida State plays each coastal division team at least twice every six years with possible meetings in the game in between regular season meetings. Florida State will also play Notre Dame as a home-and-home twice every six years per a conference agreement, in addition to the conference foes, the Seminoles face in-state rival Florida from the SEC at the end of the regular season. The two teams emergence as perennial football powers in the 1980s and 1990s helped build the Florida–Florida State football rivalry into a game that has held national title implications. Florida State remains the team in the state of Florida to play both powers, Florida and Miami, every year. The remaining dates on Florida States regular season schedule are filled with various non-conference opponents that vary year to year

5.
Virginia Tech Hokies football
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The Virginia Tech Hokies football team, represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and they previously competed in the Big East. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium, located in Blacksburg, Lane Stadium is considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country, being voted number one in ESPNs Top 20 Scariest Places to Play. Also, it was recognized in 2005 by Rivals. com as having the best home-field advantage in the country and it is currently the 31st largest stadium in college football. In 124 seasons, the Hokies have won over 700 games and appeared in 30 bowl games, with 24 consecutive bowl appearances, beginning in 1993, the Hokies currently have the longest bowl game streak in the country recognized by the NCAA. The program has claimed ten conference titles and produced eight All-Americans. Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College first played football on October 21,1892 against St. Albans Lutheran Boys School, the game took place on a plowed off wheat field that was about as level as a side of Brush Mountain. The Hokies won their first game 14–10, but were defeated 10–0 eight days later on a trip to Radford. The 1899,1901, and 1903 teams lost only to rival Virginia, star player Hunter Carpenter returned to Virginia Tech in 1905, after a year at the University of North Carolina, for a last shot at beating Virginia. Carpenter helped lead VPI to a 9–1 record, the best in history up to that time. He was never named to the All-America team only because Walter Camp, the 1909 team claim a southern championship. This is the first season the team was referred to in print as the Gobblers, at the end of the 1911 season, VPI joined the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association. They won the conference in 1916 and 1918, after 1921, the SAIAA was dissolved and six of its schools became founding members of the Southern Conference. From 1925 to 1928, Tech was led by Frank Peake and he was joined by Scotty MacArthur, Herbert Mac McEver and Tommy Tomko. In 1927, during a 6 to 0 upset of the Colgate Red Raiders in New York, Peake ran for nearly 200 yards, during one three-game stretch, he accumulated rushing and return yardage of 306,314 and 353 yards. He was credited with gaining 1,761 yards in eight games,930 were from scrimmage, and 831 on punts and kickoffs. In 1928 the game against Virginia he came off the sideline with a hip to return a punt for a touchdown. In 1932, Tech upset Georgia 7–6, Bill Grinus blocked the tying extra point

6.
Official (American football)
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In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college games, seven officials operate on the field. Beginning in 2015, Division I college football conferences are using eight game officials, College games outside the Division I level use six or seven officials. Arena football, high school football, and other levels of football have other officiating systems, High school football played under the National Federation of State High School Associations rules typically use five officials for varsity and 3,4, or 5 for non-varsity games. Because the referee is responsible for the supervision of the game. American football officials generally use the equipment, Whistle Used to signal a reminder to players that the ball is dead. Penalty marker or flag A bright-yellow-colored flag that is thrown on the field toward or at the spot of a foul, for fouls where the spot is unimportant, such as fouls which occur at the snap or during a dead ball, the flag is typically thrown vertically. The flag is wrapped around a weight, such as sand or beans, so that it can be thrown with some distance and accuracy and to ensure it remains in place, Officials typically carry a second flag in case there are multiple fouls on a play. Officials who run out of flags when they see multiple fouls on a play may drop their hat or a bag instead. Bean bag Used to mark various spots that are not fouls, for example, a bean bag is used to mark the spot of a fumble or the spot where a player caught a punt. It is typically colored white, blue, black, or orange, depending on the league, college conference, level of play. Unlike penalty flags, bean bags may be tossed to a parallel to the nearest yard line. Down indicator A specially designed wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down and it has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the finger when it is second down. Some officials, especially umpires, may use a second indicator to keep track of where the ball was placed between the hash marks before the play. This is important when the ball is re-spotted after a pass or a foul. Game data card and pencil Officials write down important administrative information, such as the winner of the coin toss, team timeouts. Game data cards can be paper or reusable plastic

7.
Field goal
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A field goal is a means of scoring in American football and Canadian football. To score a goal the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick. The vast majority of goals, in both codes, are placed kicked. Drop kicked field goals were common in the days of Gridiron football but are almost never done in modern times. In most leagues, a field goal awards three points. A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, since a field goal is worth only three points, as opposed to a touchdown, which is worth six points, it is usually only attempted in specific situations. The goal structure consists of a crossbar suspended 10 feet above the ground. In American football the goals are centered on each end line, in the first half, there is enough time remaining to execute only one more play. In the second half, there is time remaining to execute only one more play. The game is in overtime, and a FG is the quickest, easiest, even under ideal conditions, the best professional kickers historically had difficulty making kicks longer than 50 yards consistently. If a team not to attempt a field goal on their last down. A punt cannot score any points in American football unless the team touches the ball first and the kicking team recovers it. The longest field goal kick in NFL history is 64 yards, the previous record was 63, originally set by Tom Dempsey and then matched by Jason Elam, Sebastian Janikowski, and David Akers. High school, college and most professional football leagues offer only a three-point field goal, however, NFL Europe encouraged long field goals of 50 yards or more by making those worth four points instead of three, a rule since adopted by the Stars Football League. Similarly, the sport of football sought to repopularize the drop kick by making that worth four points, it failed. The overall field goal percentage during the 2010 NFL season was 82.3, in comparison, Jan Stenerud, one of only two pure kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had a career field goal percentage of 66.8 from 1967 to 1985. The holder is usually the teams punter or backup quarterback, instead of the regular center, a team may have a dedicated long snapper trained especially to snap the ball on placekick attempts and punts. The holder usually lines up seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, upon receiving the snap, the holder holds the ball against the ground vertically, with the stitches away from the kicker

8.
Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, the Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The teams national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs, the Cowboys streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC, the Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons, in which they only missed the playoffs twice, an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable team in the world. The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U. S. sports team. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D. C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized and this infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas, since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshalls position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had an out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song Hail to the Redskins, Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchisons plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchisons attorney to him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased Hail to the Redskins for $2,500, before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to Hail to the Redskins to Marshall for his vote, the one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, in addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons

9.
Ivy League
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The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group beyond the sports context. The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the term Ivy League has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism. While the term was in use as early as 1933, it became official after the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference in 1954. Seven of the eight schools were founded during the United States colonial period, Ivy League institutions account for seven of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution, the other two are Rutgers University and College of William & Mary. Ivy League schools are generally viewed as some of the most prestigious, all eight universities place in the top fifteen of the U. S. News & World Report 2017 nation university rankings, including the top four schools and five of the top eight. Undergraduate enrollments range from about 4,000 to 14,000, making them larger than those of a private liberal arts college. Total enrollments, including students, range from approximately 6,400 at Dartmouth to over 20,000 at Columbia, Cornell, Harvard. Ivy League financial endowments range from Browns $3 billion to Harvards $36.4 billion, as of 2014, Harvard University has an endowment of $36.4 billion. Additionally, each university receives millions of dollars in grants and other subsidies from federal. Harvard University uses the date that the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony formally allocated funds for the creation of a college, Harvard was chartered in 1650, although classes had been conducted for approximately a decade by then. The University of Pennsylvania initially considered its founding date to be 1750, later in Penns early history, the university changed its officially recognized founding date to 1749, which was used for all of the nineteenth century, including a centennial celebration in 1849. In 1899, Penns board of trustees adopted a third founding date of 1740. Penn was chartered in 1755, the same year classes began. Religious affiliation refers to financial sponsorship, formal association with, and promotion by, all of the schools in the Ivy League are private and not currently associated with any religion. Students have long revered the ivied walls of older colleges, planting the ivy was a customary class day ceremony at many colleges in the 1800s. In 1893 an alumnus told The Harvard Crimson, In 1850, the custom of planting the ivy, while the ivy oration was delivered, arose about this time. At Penn, graduating seniors started the custom of planting ivy at a university building each spring in 1873, Ivy planting ceremonies are reported for Yale, Simmons, Bryn Mawr and many others

10.
Holder (gridiron football)
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In American football and Canadian football, the holder is the player who receives the snap from the long snapper during field goal or extra point attempts made by the placekicker. The holder is set on one knee 5 yards behind the line-of-scrimmage, before the play begins he places the hand which is closest to the place kicker on the ground in a location designated by the kickers foot, with his forward hand ready to receive the snap. The holder, like the placekicker and the long snapper, is protected from contact from the opposing team. The penalty for roughing the holder is 15 yards and an automatic first down. Because of this, it is rare for a team to preserve a roster spot solely for a placekick holder. One notable exception was Patricia Palinkas, the first female football player. The holders actual position, on the official depth chart, is generally either the punter or the backup quarterback. Some high school football teams will place a wide receiver or running back at the position because of their good hands. The rationale for having a backup quarterback holding is that the quarterback is accustomed to receiving snaps from center and he also provides a threat for a fake field goal since the quarterback can throw a pass on such plays. Additionally, in the event of a bad snap and a kick attempt. Years ago in the NFL, backup quarterbacks generally held for field goal kicks, however, such usage has remained rather common in collegiate football. Many times a quarterback who was a redshirt freshman will serve as the holder his sophomore year, in todays NFL, most teams use their punter as holder. There are a few NFL teams that use a quarterback as their holders. New Orleans Saints – The Saints tend to run more fake field goals than any other team and their holder for a period was quarterback Luke McCown, but is now punter Thomas Morstead. The Cowboys hired a more experienced holder, Brian Moorman, in 2012, throughout the 1990s, starting tight end Jay Novacek was the usual holder on kicks. Oakland Raiders – The Raiders Matt Schaub was used as the holder during the 2014 season, denver Broncos – The Broncos used to have former starting quarterback Jake Plummer as the holder and continued to do so after he was benched in favor of Jay Cutler. After Plummer retired the Broncos began to use their punter as the holder, seattle Seahawks – Steve Largent, a wide receiver, was the kick holder and in 1985, he ran in a muffed snap for an extra point. During a fake field goal attempt the holder may pick the ball up, in addition, the holder may attempt a run or pass if the snap is botched and a successful kick is unlikely

11.
Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as a team in 1960. The team competes in the National Football Conference North division, before that, the Vikings were in the NFC Central, the team has played in four Super Bowl games, but lost each one. The team plays its games at U. S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis, professional football in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new team in the area did not surface again until August 1959. Skoglund, and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because, in the 1920s, when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league, the agreement allowed him 10 percent of any future Minnesota team. Coincidentally or not, the teams from Ole Haugsruds high school, Central High School in Superior, Wisconsin, were called the Vikings. From the teams first season in 1961 to 1981, the team called Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington home, the Vikings conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965. In 1966, the moved to their current training camp at Minnesota State University in Mankato. The Vikings played their games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013. The Vikings played their last game at the Metrodome on December 29,2013, since the teams first season in 1961, the Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL. As of 2014, they have won at least three games in every season except in 1962, and are one of only six NFL teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL Championship, in 1969, before the merger with the American Football League. Since the league merger in 1970, they have qualified for the playoffs 26 times, the team has played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, though failing to win any of them. In addition, they have lost in their last five NFC Championship Game appearances since 1978, the team currently has 13 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27,1960

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Arrowhead Stadium
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Arrowhead Stadium is a football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, that primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. It is part of the Truman Sports Complex with adjacent Kauffman Stadium, Arrowhead has a seating capacity of 76,416, making it the 28th largest stadium in North America and sixth largest NFL stadium. It is also the largest sports facility by capacity in the state of Missouri, a $375 million renovation was completed in 2010. The As left for Oakland after the 1967 season and were replaced by the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969, Municipal Stadium, built in 1923 and mostly rebuilt in 1955, seated approximately 35,000 for football. As part of the AFL–NFL merger announced in 1966, NFL stadiums would be required to seat no less than 50,000 people, voters approved a $102 million bond issue in 1967 to build a new sports complex with two stadiums. The original design called for construction of baseball and football stadiums with a common roof that would roll between them. The design proved to be complicated and expensive than originally thought. The two-stadium complex concept was the first of its kind, the Chiefs staff, led by Jack Steadman, helped develop the complex. The original two-stadium concept was designed by Denver architect Charles Deaton. Deatons design was implemented by the Kansas City architectural firm of Kivett & Myers, Arrowhead is considered by some to have had an influence on the design of several future NFL stadiums. Construction on Arrowhead Stadium was completed in time for the 1972 season, on August 12,1972, The Chiefs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 24–14 in the first preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium. Later on during the 1972 regular season, the largest crowd to see a game in Arrowhead Stadium was 82,094 in a Chiefs game against the Oakland Raiders on November 5. In 1973, the stadium was the first in the NFL to include arrows on the markers to indicate the nearer goal line. This practice would eventually spread to the other stadiums by the end of the decade, on January 20,1974, Arrowhead Stadium hosted the Pro Bowl. Due to an ice storm and brutally cold temperatures the week leading up to the game, on game day, the temperature soared to 41°, melting most of the ice and snow that accumulated during the week. The AFC defeated the NFC, 15–13, in 1984, the Jackson County Sports Authority re-evaluated the concept of a fabric dome. The concept was disregarded as being unnecessary and financially impractical, Arrowhead hosted the Drum Corps International World Championships in 1988 and 1989. In 1991, two Diamond Vision screens shaped as footballs were installed, in 1994 other improvements were made and a grass playing surface was installed, replacing the original AstroTurf artificial turf